Northern Ireland to tear down 'peace walls' by 2023

Politicians in Northern Ireland say they plan to tear down the so-called "peace walls" between Catholic and Protestant communities within a decade.

Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson said the plan to remove almost 60 barriers would help the province move forward as a united society.

The walls were built over the past four decades, mostly in Belfast, to help prevent violence between Catholics and Protestants.

They are up to six metres high and run for kilometres through areas of dense housing, separating neighbours who have been on opposing sides of the province's sectarian divide.

Riots over Christmas and New Year in Belfast were a reminder of why the walls were built, and some residents living nearby say they want the barriers to remain.

But Mr Robinson has promised that local communities will be involved in the phased removal of the walls.

"What we are attempting to do is tackle the blight of sectarianism and racism and other forms of intolerance that we believe is essential in shaping a shared and coherent society that can move forward and collectively face the challenges of a changing world," he said.

His deputy Martin McGuinness added: "We are not prepared to sit back and be paralysed, we are prepared to continue to move forward.

We are not prepared to sit back and be paralysed, we are prepared to continue to move forward.

Deputy first minister Martin McGuinness

"The nettle has to be grasped, it is ridiculous that we have become a successful peace process, yet those issues have not yet been resolved."

Dr Bill Kissane, a lecturer in politics in the London School of Economics, says it is a symbolic next step as the peace settlement matures.

"Peace walls are seen as an indication or a representation of the limits of the settlement," he said.

"While they exist, it shows that people don't have the belief they can live side by side with their neighbours.

"And the fact they are actually committing themselves to ... taking them down is a sign that perhaps from the top down the idea of a shared future in Northern Ireland is not as rhetorical as people thought it was.

"It's been endorsed by the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and Martin McGuiness the leader of Sinn Fein. I think it will be seen as a real statement of confidence and quite a bold initiative, but how it's going to be carried out I don't know."

Authorities are also using an all-party working group to discuss contentious flags and parades, symbols that can still spark sectarian violence.

Dr Kissane says the current mood is peaceful, but breakouts continue to occur.

"In terms of political violence, we had the riots before Christmas, and the periodic assassination of members of the security forces," he said.

"There's been a huge change in terms of the level of violence in society.

"Obviously it's a brave new departure to take down the walls, especially when the residents themselves had been requesting that those walls be constructed. It's a step into the unknown."